Devon Sawa is kicking behind and taking names. As Owen Elliot, the former “cleaner” turned good guy on The CW’s Nikita, he’s putting bad guys and rogue agents in their place on a weekly basis. Yesterday, he took time out from saving the day to chat with BFTV about what’s ahead for his character.

Devon first appeared in the season one episode “The Guardian,” came back multiple times through season two, and now in season three, he’s joined the regular cast. How does he feel about the promotion? “I’m so happy,” he said. “I don’t know if Owen was supposed to go on, but I was surprised and excited when I got told that I was going to be moving to Toronto,” where Nikita films.

The show has found a number of new and creative ways to use Owen in its storylines. Last week, he teamed with Nikita to stop a rogue cleaner, and in tonight’s episode he’ll take on another cleaner named Ray who’s using his own girlfriend as a hostage. Nikita fans will recall that Owen was introduced with his girlfriend Emily, who ultimately died at the hands of Division snipers, and there’s a distinct parallel between his story and Ray’s.

“These guys are what Owen would’ve been if Owen didn’t have a conscience,” explained Devon. “The guy in the last episode was the same thing. These are guys that Owen should’ve been.”

Instead, Owen joined Team Nikita, and his presence has served a number of different purposes. He’s tried to mediate as Nikita and Michael’s relationship has struggled – “Owen has good intentions,” said Devon – and now that Michael isn’t up to par for field work, Owen will step in as Nikita’s partner on missions.

“He’s got Nikita’s back no matter what,” Devon said. “They have a strong bond, a strong friendship, they have the same past. He fills in where Michael can’t.”

It’s a great function for his character to fulfill, too, as that’s one of his favorite aspects of the show. “I love going on missions with Nikita,” he continued. “Being on Nikita means more action, and I’m a big action guy.”

Another part of the gig that he enjoys are Owen’s scenes with the show’s major antagonists, Amanda (played by Melinda Clarke) and her partner-in-crime Ari Tasarov (Peter Outerbridge). “There’s some stuff coming up with Ari, with Peter Outerbridge, that I had a blast shooting. The director [of that episode], Jon Cassar, was awesome,” revealed Devon, “and I like working with Melinda.”

Amanda, of course, was revealed earlier this season to be the cause of Owen’s inability to remember his past, which the actor said he’s been thinking quite a bit about. “I have a billion different ideas,” he admitted. “[Series creator] Craig [Silverstein] likes to keep me in the dark with that. He feels like Owen’s in the dark, so I should be too.”

As for how it feels not to have all the answers about his character’s history? “I see a psychiatrist, I lose sleep, I don’t eat well, I get random headaches,” he joked with a laugh. “It’s good.”

Luckily for Devon – and for Nikita fans everywhere – those answers are coming sooner rather than later. “Any day now I’m going to get the [next] script, and that script is supposed to be the script about Owen’s past,” Devon explained. “When I get the script, I’ll be excited.”

So will those of us watching at home, because Devon has been a fantastic addition to Nikita, and it’s about time for Owen to get back to busting heads. After all, he’s really good at that.

You can keep up with Devon on Twitter (@DevonESawa). Nikita is all new tonight at 8 PM ET/PT on The CW.

Brittany Frederick is an award-winning entertainment journalist, screenwriter and novelist. Since her career began at 15, she’s worked on her dream TV show in Human Target, met her hero Adam Levine at The Voice, collaborated with Magician of the Century Criss Angel, and encouraged vehicular mayhem on the set of Top Gear. You can follow her on Twitter (@tvbrittanyf) and visit her official site (brittany-frederick.com).

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